


You strike a match that lights my heart on fire

by HiHannah



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Fluff I guess, M/M, Songfic, but mostly adorable, happy ending by the way, maybe a little angst at the end, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 12:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3487571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiHannah/pseuds/HiHannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico has to spend three days in the infirmary and has a tiny crush on Will.<br/>Okay maybe a giant one.</p><p>Songfic, inspired by 'I Do Adore' by Mindy Gledhill, as requested by majesticvictini.tumblr.com (Thank you, if you're reading this!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	You strike a match that lights my heart on fire

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for requesting this, it was very nice to write!  
> I didn't have much time, though, so I haven't really edited anything (sorry if it sucks).

The three days Nico had to spend in the infirmary didn’t go the way he expected them to go. It was much better, actually.

Partly because it was a lot brighter and less depressing than the Hades cabin. Maybe also because the food was good and he wasn’t alone all the time. But mostly because the things Nico thought would be the worst, all turned out to be the best. Will talked a lot, and Nico liked to listen. Will invented stupid nicknames, but Nico was secretly flattered. Will made way too many terrible puns, but Nico had to hide his smile each time. Nico liked all those things Will did.

 

 

_Day 1 – 11 am_

 

“Nico, wait!”

Nico stopped in his tracks and turned around to see Will Solace running towards him while he waved with both arms in the air. While this was a bit over the top, it wasn’t uncommon that all eyes turned towards Will. He always managed to draw attention to himself. He was just so... _present._ Like you couldn’t look away from him or something. His eyes were as blue as the sky in the summer and his hair was blond, but it looked golden in the sunlight, especially when the sunset made everything shine in orange-golden light. Will ran towards Nico while the latter was zoned out, thinking about the son of Apollo.

Suddenly, Will was right in front of Nico. Nico was caught off guard by Will’s speed, and jumped slightly.

“You promised me something, remember?”

Will’s smirk said ‘I’m sarcastic and confident’ but his eyes said ‘I just hope you’ll come with me’. Nico liked that expression on Will’s face. It made him look more human, and less like this invincible, confident ‘cool kid’.

Nico was lost in thought for a moment, when he remembered Will was waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, infirmary, three days, swore it on the Styx.”

“Are you ready?”

“Sure.”

Will’s eyes lit up. Nico felt his heart go up in flames. The twinkle in Will’s eyes showed excitement, relief and something mischievous. It was a weird mix of emotions and Nico didn’t know what to think, but it felt like something he should be nervous about, though he couldn’t explain why.

“Shall we start at midnight though? Might be easier to count and stuff.”

“Okay.”

Nico really didn’t know why he was so excited, he kind of hated it.

 

 

_Day 1 – 00.00 am_

 

Nico fell on the bed. Not as smooth as was hoping to ‘sit down’, as Will had told him.

“Fuck,” Nico muttered.

“Are you alright?” Will sounded concerned, and maybe a bit amused as well.

“Yeah, I just... tripped on my shoelaces,” Nico didn’t add the part about being distracted by the sound of Will’s voice.

“Well, best to take them off then, right? Do you want me to help you up?”

“I’m fine.”

Nico stood up and sat down, this time without forcefully slamming his head on the bed. He took off his shoes.

“Alright, I’ll have to examine you and inspect your injuries. I’ll go slow and tell you everything I’m doing so nothing will be unexpected. You can tell me to stop whenever something hurts or makes you uncomfortable, then you’ll get some time before I continue. This goes for treatment as well. Okay?”

Nico nodded.

“Okay, I’ll just get some supplies. I’ll be back in, like, 5 minutes? Yeah, probably.”

 

 

_Day 1 – 00.10 am_

 

“Alright. Take off your shirt.”

Nico looked up in confusion and surprise.

“I need to look at your injuries. No need to be afraid, Death Boy, I don’t bite.”

After he rolled his eyes at the nickname, Nico reluctantly took off his shirt. He felt too exposed.

“Oh my gods! Look at your arm!”

A seemingly endless rant followed about how Nico should’ve taken better care of himself, how he should’ve been to the infirmary the second the battle was over, how he was really stupid and how he could’ve died, etcetera, etcetera.

Nico thought it was kind of funny how Will looked and talked when he was shocked. And it was nice to know he cared about Nico.

“Yeah, okay, I get it now. Look, instead of screaming at my face for hours, you could start healing me. Or I’ll be here for three weeks instead of three days.”

“I’m not sure I’d mind that, actually.”

Nico wondered what he meant by that.

“But you do have a point, Zombie Breath, the sooner you’re healthy the better. Let’s get started.”

Will moved closer towards Nico. A very _shirtless_ Nico.

“I’m going to inspect those gashes, alright? I’ll tell you when I’ve got to touch them.”

“Okay.”

‘Okay’ was about as much Nico could get out of his mouth with Will this close to him. He didn’t even know why but it was very exciting and very stressful at the same time. When he felt his cheeks heating up, he turned his head and tried to cover his face with his hair. He hoped Will wouldn’t notice.

 

_Day 2 – 11.00  am_

 

“Hello, Nico, how are you today, my darling? Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Nico’s stomach twisted and his heart flipped over.

“I- I’m fine.”

“No bad dreams?”

Bad? No. Embarrassing? Yes. Nico remembered his dream, in which Will played the biggest part. He vaguely remembered the two of them kissing, while Will’s hands were in Nico’s hair and Nico had one hand on Will’s back and the other on Will’s ass. He blushed at the memory.

“No. Zero bad dreams tonight.”

“That’s fantastic. Right, I brought you breakfast!”

“Thanks.”

 

 

 

_Day 2 – 10.00 pm_

 

Nico was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the past day.

As it turned out, being at the infirmary wasn’t as bad as he had expected. It was actually rather nice.

Will had taken care of him the whole day. He was humming melodies and tapping rhythms all the time, walking around in a way it looked like he was somewhere in-between flying and dancing, throwing nicknames and bad jokes into conversations as if he was flirting with Nico.

Nico, on the other hand, spent the day worrying, blushing, feeling nervous and awkward, getting lost in thought, stuttering, being clumsy and trying to stare at Will without him noticing.

They were _so_ different from each other. Nico didn’t think he would ever find anyone as much of an opposite as Will.

He was like the freaking human embodiment of the sun, while Nico was more of a Planet Pluto kinda guy: cold, dark, distant and always left out and alone.

Will was so warm and happy, so bright, relaxed, soft, smooth, graceful, sweet, caring, understanding, sociable, friendly, handsome- _wait, handsome?_

To be honest, Nico did think Will was handsome. He liked his eyes, his hair, his smile, his tall and slim posture, his muscles, his freckles, his nose, his lips, his ears, his small and faded scars, his... everything, really. Yes, Will was handsome, ‘pretty’ would suit him too, as well as ‘beautiful’ and ‘cute’. And when that mischievous twinkle in his eyes appeared, his confident little smirk, that eyebrow- raised ever so slightly- Nico would even describe Will as ‘hot’.

 

 

_Day 3 – 10.00 am_

 

Again, Nico was woken up with a ‘how are you, my darling?’ and it sure managed to make his knees go weak. He kept stuttering and blushing when Will was around.

He realised he developed a crush on Will.

“What did you dream about?”

_Your lips._

“I don’t remember.”

Nico couldn’t get the thought of kissing Will out of his head.

“Here, have some breakfast.”

“Thanks.”

 

 

_Day 3 – 1.00 pm_

 

“Does the cute little zombie want some lunch?”

“Fuck you,” Nico said in response to the nickname. But all he could think about was that Will just called him cute.

“You wish.”

Nico blushed furiously.

Will seemed to realise what he had just said. He cleared his throat.

“Okay, moving on. Lunch?”

Nico nodded, having lost the ability to answer a simple question.

While they were eating lunch, Nico tried not to stare at Will. Though he couldn’t help but steal a glance every now and then. He mostly noticed that Will’s lips were moving while he was eating. Nico really wanted to kiss those lips. He’d never actually kissed anyone and now he couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like.

 

 

_Day 3 – 4.00 pm_

 

Will changed Nico’s bandages. He was incredibly close. Nico felt the heat of Will’s hands on his arms, he could even feel his breath. Which, of course, didn’t do him much good.

“Nico, what’s wrong? Your pulse is... kind of really quick.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You seem.... nervous, almost like you’re panicking. Do you want me to stop for a bit?”

“No! I mean... No, you can continue. It’s nothing, I promise.”

“Absolutely sure?”

 “Yes, Will.”

Will went on with his work, and Nico continued trying to push down the urge to shiver when he felt Will’s breath on his arm.

 

 

_Day 3 – 8.00 pm_

 

They had just been sitting in a comfortable silence for a while when Will broke it. “Hey, Nico?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ve only got four hours left here.”

“Oh.”

“You’re almost free.”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t seem excited.”

No, he didn’t. Because he didn’t exactly _want_ to leave. He wanted to stay here, with Will.

“Neither do you.”

Will was surprised by Nico’s comment.

“That... that’s because, well, I wouldn’t like saying goodbye to you.”

Nico tried to stayed calm as his heart acted like it was in a bouncy-castle, but he didn’t respond.

“You know,” Will continued, “I feel like we really got to know each other the last few days. It’d be a shame if I never saw you again.”

Nico hummed in agreement.

“But hey, why aren’t you excited to leave?”

“S- same as you, I guess,” Nico stammered, “I- I don’t want to say goodbye. To you, I mean.”

Will looked at him in confusion, “Nico... are you alright?”

“I- yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re stuttering and stammering and your face is like a tomato, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” He let out a nervous laugh.

“There could be a million reasons. That’s why I prefer to ask instead of guess.”

“That sounds... fair, I guess.”

“So what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Nico...”

Nico sighed.

“I just- I’m a little... confused? I mean, like, I’m uh... I might want to... tell you something but I don’t know how.”

“Take all the time you need. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I won’t say a word about anything you’re going to tell me unless you want me to or it could save your life, I promise on the river Styx.”

Nico didn’t know what to do. Should he tell Will how he felt? Should he just drop the subject? No, there’s no going back now. Or maybe... he could just tell him something else? Maybe not the whole truth. Maybe he should come out to Will. That might be a little more subtle than confessing his crush or immediately kissing him, right?

“Okay, so I uh... I want to tell you that I- I-” Nico took a deep breath, “I’m... gay.”

“Alright.”

“Alright? I just told you I’m gay and all you say is ‘alright’?!”

“Well, yeah I mean, you like guys, so what? Same here, no big deal.”

“Wait... ‘same here’, you mean you’re gay too?”

Will nodded, “I’m probably the gayest gay to ever gay, I’m surprised you didn’t know already, actually.”

“I didn’t.”

“Yeah, apparently.”

“Okay, well, that just went a whole lot better than I expected.”

“Told you that you didn’t have anything to fear.”

“Yeah. Well, thanks.”

“No problem, Mr. Tiny Gay Italian.”

“If you call me that ever again I swear I will-”

“What? You will do what?”

 _‘Fuck it’_ , Nico thought.

“Kiss you.”

Will’s eyes widened and Nico immediately wanted to go back in time, or eat his words, or shadow-travel, or die. Anything would be better than sitting here after telling Will he’d kiss him.

Will seemed to have recollected himself and that _twinkle_ and that _smirk_ had returned to his face, and Nico was really worried and really confused.

“Well then, Mr. Tiny Gay Italian, I hope you’re a man of your word.”

Nico didn’t know what to say or what to do, because he just couldn’t process what he just heard. He was pretty sure his jaw was somewhere around his knees right now.

_‘Did he just? Oh he just did. Oh fuck, now I do have to actually kiss him. I can’t back out now. I didn’t think I’d get this far and- OH FUCK IT!’_

Nico stood up, nearly _ran_ towards Will, and pressed their lips together. The kiss was a bit clumsy, but Nico poured all of his feelings into it, because he thought that at this point, he had nothing to lose.

When they pulled apart, Will had a massive grin on his face that made Nico realise what he just did. _He just kissed Will Solace. His first ever kiss._

“That... was an awesome surprise.”

Nico was lost for words.

“So, dear Mr. Tiny Gay Italian, would you do that again, please?”

“It would be my pleasure.”


End file.
